Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya revealed that a group of independent environmentalists have discovered a zone where radiation level is higher than that of Chernobyl.

The specified area is located in Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk region, around an abandoned uranium mine. According to Oleksiy Vedmidsky, a local ecologist, the mine is a huge danger to the people in the region and he has some pretty interesting data to back up his claims. He and his team have recently measured the radiation level around the uranium mine, and the results were nothing less than shocking – “My particle detector measured 2611 micro Roentgen per hour there. Even in the Chernobyl zone near the reactor the exposure is 500-600 micro Roentgen per hour,” Vedmidsky said, pointing out that normal reading is under 30 micro Roentgen per hour.

Regional authorities were quick to dismiss this alarming report, stating that the people who collected the data used a particle detector not certified in the Ukraine. Now, that’s hardly a worthy reason, considering Vedminsky and his crew used a US manufactured Geiger counter that detects alfa, beta, gamma and roentgen rays, unlike the ones used by the government, which only indicate one tyoe.

Environmentalists said there are approximately 7 million tons of radioactive materials buried in the abandoned mine, which makes this place dangerous not only to people who keep livestock at the abandoned site, but to everyone living in the surrounding area. It won’t kill anyone instantly, but it all depends on how much time you spend near such a powerful source of radiation. Considering there are no warning signs around the area, the effects could be catastrophic.